Regression
by Moonlight Tigger
Summary: AU - They were foolish. They had not listened to the warnings. Now they were forced to watch their people regress to primal states just to survive. Worse still, their only hope to win this supernatural war has been eliminated; reduced to a near-comatose state so as to no longer be of any assistance to them.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Foresight

They had always laughed at him. Giggled and smirked in his direction. Why, I hear you ask? It is because he still remained faithful to the beliefs which had long since diminished in them. He still believed in the mystical beings who roamed the Earth before humans, and he was practised in good and black magic so he was able to foresee and combat any disasters which arose from the underworld.

They had been foolish to ignore his warnings. Now they were forced to watch those around them regress to primal activities just to survive.

…

Germany and Prussia had whole-heartedly laughed at Britain when he spoke in the World Conference.

"So you expect us to believe such nonsense? Really, you are nothing more than a child with an overactive imagination, Britain," Prussia had cackled. Britain had sent a piercing glare in the pair's direction, the warning of this only apparent to France and Spain, who had experienced the full fury and might of the British Empire at his strongest and darkest back in his days of piracy.

"I speak the truth! The veil which separates Earth from the Spirit realm has been torn, and spirits now roam the Earth, possessing humans and forcing them to turn on each other, eventually killing each other! We must not ignore this, or we ourselves could be at risk from being possessed and eventually turn on each other, starting another World War when we have barely recovered from the last!" Britain exclaimed.

"Maybe you aren't getting enough sleep, Iggy," America spoke softly. The young nation's former guardian glared in his direction, shrugging off the comforting hands that he placed on his shoulders.

"I have been having plenty of sleep! I was shown a vision the other day, foreseeing the devastation this will bring and realising the danger we are in!"

"Goodness, now you are hallucinating!" France gasped, embracing Britain with pity. Britain threw the melodramatic Frenchman off of him and glared at the other nations. He scowled.

"Fine, think what you want. Just don't blame me when I am the only one to try and save us and am possessed in the process of doing so," he muttered, grabbing his coat and storming from the room. America watched him leave, mouth agape at his statement. It was only Sealand and Canada who jumped from their seats, following the aggravated nation along the corridor. The remaining nations glanced at each other, all the while listening to Canada's pleas for Britain to calm down, while said nation scolded Sealand for even attending the conference.

"Ghosts are very scary! Even more scary than Russia!" Italy shivered, while Russia shot him an icy glare.

"Calm down, Italy. Just ignore Britain's fantasies. You know that what he says was all made up," Germany reassured the young man, who sighed in relief.

"Phew! I don't wanna be possessed! It would make me look mega silly!" Italy chirped, while Germany rolled his eyes.

_A/N: Well, what did you think? This is my first ever Hetalia fanfic, so please be kind! I was only introduced to Hetalia a few weeks ago, and have not seen '**Paint It, White!' **or '**Hetalia World Series/Season 3'**as the latter is not yet available in the UK. So if I have characters wrong or nicknames wrong, please tell me and I will correct them!_

_Please review and tell me what you think, and if there are any areas where I can improve! I have the next chapter of this almost finished so it will be up very soon!_

_Next time – It is a common military tactic to eliminate the strongest opponent, to give you the best chance of success. Who knew these spirits were so devious?_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Elimination

The meeting adjourned the nations all separating to their own hotels for the night before disembarking to their various homes the following day.

America still felt nauseous at Britain's declaration earlier. He knew that Britain had an overactive imagination, but the older nation usually kept his fantasies to himself, partly through embarrassment. Britain had seemed so serious at the meeting, more serious than America had ever seen him. Maybe there was some truth behind his words? If so, America would shoulder the responsibility to save the planet from these evil spirits. He was the hero after all!

Frowning, he looked up at the hotel he found himself outside. He was staying here for the night, along with Britain, Canada and Sealand. Perhaps he should go and speak with Britain about his outburst earlier.

He chapped the door to the floor that Britain was staying on. A smiling servant girl with curly blonde hair answered the door.

"How may I help you, Mr America?" she asked sweetly. The nation blushed slightly – she was very pretty. How did such a beautiful young woman belong to Britain? Well, she had a British accent…

He suddenly realised that he hadn't answered, and broke from his elongated stupor and smiled at the girl.

"I would like to speak to Britain, please?" The girl's bright expression faded slightly at the mention of her employer.

"Um…Mr Britain is unfortunately unwell at the moment. He came back from the meeting looking very pale and almost fainted into my colleague's arms. He is currently resting his bedroom, and it would be better if he weren't disturbed," she stated sadly. America gasped and felt his heart miss a beat momentarily.

"Please, only for a short while," he gave her the cutest puppy-dog look he could muster. The girl sighed, curtsying and stepping aside to allow him entrance to the floor.

"My name is Ellie, by the way," she smiled as she led him through the corridor along to Britain's bedroom.

"Nice to meet you, Ellie," he nodded, returning the smile. Ellie finally stopped outside an oak door, and chapped on it lightly.

"…yes?" came a small whisper from inside.

"Mr America is here to see you sir," Ellie explained.

"…okay…" came the second whisper. Ellie nodded, opening the door and gesturing for America to step inside. Once he did so, she pulled it softly closed behind him, leaving him in the dimly lit room, staring in shock at the bed before him.

Britain, beads of sweat on his forehead and quietly taking gasped breaths lay atop the bed in a plain white t-shirt and grey shorts. He glanced over at America with dim green eyes, a small smile making its way onto his face.

"I'm…sorry…but…I…can't stand…to…shake your…hand," he managed to utter between gasps. America broke out of his second trance and darted over to the bedside, gripping onto the limp hand of his former guardian. Concern laced his features as he looked upon the older nation's frail form. He removed his gloves and shoved them into his jacket pocket, and hissed as he touched the bare skin of Britain's hand once again. He had expected the man to be exceptionally warm, because of the sweat on his face, but instead his hand was deathly cold. America raised one hand to Britain's clammy forehead, and the heat was the same, contradictory to the moisture lapped over his face. His panic worsened at this revelation. Britain should not be this cold… it wasn't healthy.

"Britain, what the heck happened after the meeting?" he demanded frantically.

"A…spirit…it…it flew…right through…me," Britain stated breathlessly. America inhaled sharply, his heart rate increasing rapidly in panic.

"You'll be all right, though?" he stuttered. Britain closed his eyes and shook his head.

"I…don't…know…" he replied.

"Please! You have to be all right! You're the only one of us who knows how to stop them!" America grasped tighter to the very flaccid hand of his comrade. Britain smiled weakly up at him.

"So…you finally…believe me?" To his question, America nodded eagerly. The older nation smiled feebly again. "It…took…me getting…into this state…to…make you…believe." His statement triggered a strong feeling of guilt inside the younger nation, who blushed in shame.

"I'm so sorry for not believing you sooner! But please, you have to be okay!" America continued pleading, bitter tears rolling down his cheeks in his desperation.

"Come…closer…for a moment…" Britain commanded. America paused his sobbing, sniffing and looking directly at the man. Then he followed his orders, leaning in close to the man. "You…must seal…the veil…for the terror…to stop…and the spirits to be vanquished."

"How the heck do I do that? And will you recover if I do that?"

"I will…recover…if…the spirit which…inflicted this…on me…is vanquished," Britain nodded. "And…to seal…the veil…you have to…!" He hissed sharply, his weak body stiffening. His eyes jammed shut in pain and he struggled to breathe.

America watched in horror as Britain began to convulse, having no control over his body anymore.

"Britain?" he stuttered. The man did not take notice, and continued to judder.

America leapt to his feet and ran out into the hall. He glanced in both directions, and, not seeing anyone, he shouted.

"Please, someone help me!" he called. Dozens of servants appeared in the corridor, and upon seeing America's panicked expression, ran towards him and into the room.

They immediately began to deal with Britain's unexpected seizure, and America found a familiar face smiling comfortingly at him, leading him from the room.

Before Ellie lead him completely away, he took one last glance into Britain's room, to see the older man still jolting awkwardly, blood dribbling from his mouth.

_A/N: So, what do you think about the second chapter? This is now the fastest I have ever updated any of my multi-chapter fanfiction stories! Please review and tell me what you think, since this is my very first Hetalia fanfic! Thank you! :D _


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